I think that cufflinks should be stylish, classic and not overly ostentatious. If a man is wearing a well cut, smart suit, with a shirt that requires him to wear cufflinks, they should be of a minimalist design, and preferably in a silver coloured metal, such as silver, platinum or white gold. Yellow gold can sometimes look a little tacky.
Some cufflinks are also available in fabric – I have seen some really interesting ones made from twisted threads of fine silk made into a knotted sphere, that were stylish yet understated. It is important that the cufflinks match and go with the suit and shirt that is to be worn. For example, with a slim fitting single breasted 1960’s three button suit in a mod style, it would be quite good to wear a pair of cufflinks with targets on them.
I think that novelty cufflinks, as with novelty ties and socks for men, look rather silly. They may be amusing for the first time that they are worn, but the joke starts to wear thin after that. Perhaps these type of novelty items should only be purchased occasionally. They do seem to be a money making exercise for large companies to get more money out of consumers, as most of the novelty cufflinks etc, are adorned with symbols of materialism, eg. characters from television shows and films, so they are best avoided.
